Hunger Games Replayed
by SteelPorcelainMXIV
Summary: Unrelated oneshots on parts of the Hunger Games I would have written differently. None of the trilogy is safe from this! Summary doesn't quite cover it but ah well. Some characters will die but others shall be saved. Chapter 3: Katniss and Gale's relationship after the Capital's fall.
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings:** Character death and inconsistent updates.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of the Hunger Games Trilogy, although if I did... Well, you'll see…

I didn't want to quote the book directly so I paraphrased when needed but tried to match the writing style for lack of confusion. (My own may show through a bit, however.) The title and chapter number will be used as the title for reference purposes.

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The Hunger Games, Chapter 26

I spit the berries out of my mouth and wipe my tongue with the rough fabric of my shirt in case any juice is left, then run to the lake and flush my mouth with water for good measure.

"Peeta, stop! It's okay!" I gasp and turn toward him only to see he hasn't moved. "Peeta?"

His only reply is to fall slowly to his knees, then slump over to the side like a rag doll without something to support it. My world freezes but I find myself at his side, shaking him, begging him to get up, to stop playing around – or at least that's what I think I'm doing. My panicked words are only a mere buzzing in my ears, or maybe it's because the roar of the crowds are drowning me out. I know it's no good but I keep trying despite the cold, blank look in his blue eyes that I'm used to seeing when I retrieve whatever game Gale or I has shot down.

Then somehow Peeta's mouth is open and my hand is filled with slightly damp deep blue berries, which I fling away angrily. He knows – knew – how dangerous nightlock is thanks to Foxface; why hadn't he been more careful? I rip off a large piece of his shirt and clumsily swipe at his tongue even though inside I'm screaming to get away, that there is no point in trying to save a dead man.

A hovercraft appears mere yards from us and I scream at Peeta again, beating him with my fists as if the pain will bring him back – not that I can do much damage without a bow and arrows anyway. Something pricks my neck and I'm numbed instantly, not feeling the ground when I crash into it. All I can do is watch Peeta's face, his now cold blue eyes, fade slowly from view and listen to the roar of a thousand people through the loudspeakers somewhere above my head.

The last thing I hear before I go blind and deaf is the final announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for my earlier enthusiasm! The victor of the seventy-fourth Hunger Games is Katniss Everdeen, the female tribute from District 12!"

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**A/N:** I was seriously expecting something like this to happen in the book, which is probably why it was so easy to write. And I found a really good but depressing fic...yeah. Sorry Peeta fans, but Gale may be next... And now that I think about it, not all of these shots will be character death. A certain little sister shall be saved at some point!

R&R please!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Sorry for taking so long but the second and third books are always checked out at my school... I ended up with both of them though, and have an extra-long weekend to work on this and my other fics. A big thanks to those who alerted/reviewed or watching this /like creepers/ and put up with the ridiculously late update!

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Mockingjay, Chapter 24 and 25

The same hair, the same duck tail sticking up when she gives her jacket to one of the crying children. It was like hearing her name echoing through the town square at the reaping all over again. For a few moments I'm not sure what to do but then I find myself running toward her, trying to get her name across the mob without losing my voice.

As if the odds are finally in my favor she turns and catches sight of me and her lips mouth my name. She wants to run, to forget that she's needed more by others, but that's impossible with so many more of them than me.

One of the other medics standing nearby notices and gives her a shove in my direction. She protests but he insists – I can tell by their facial expressions since I am now close enough to see them clearly.

We've almost reached each other when the rest of the parachutes blow up.

_/…slight timeskip…/ _

I'm meandering through the mansion's hallways when I suddenly find myself back in the area used for patients who no longer need to be in the hospital but not well enough to be properly housed nearby. Most of the doors are slightly ajar but one remains closed – that's good; it means not many people go through it and I may be able to find a new little corner to curl up in.

No one appears to stop me as I silently turn the handle and slip inside, shutting the door behind me but when I turn I wish someone had. Prim is lying on the bed set against the far wall of the room. Either her frame has shrunk since I last saw her or the bed is enormous but all I care about is that she's alive.


	3. Chapter 3

Mockingjay, Chapter 27/Epilogue

It is a beautiful day, sunny and warm, with just the right amount of breeze so I am neither too hot nor too cold. The game seems to feel the same way since today's hunt had been very successful so far – my new pack already holds two rabbits, a small wild turkey, and several squirrels. I haven't even checked the second trap line.

"Need some help, Katnip?"

Even after all these years I still don't know how he can be so silent. "Gale, it's good to see you." I turn and smile in an attempt to hide how startled I am at his approach and notice what he's holding. "You ran by my other trap line on your way here, didn't you?"

"It's mine too; I helped you set it up last time I visited." He states and nods back the way he came from. "Let's go back to your place for a bit."

"What for? It's so nice out here today."

He chuckles. "You still would rather be out in the woods even though we can't get in trouble for it anymore?"

It's not really a question and we both know it. Being a part of two hunger games has somehow convinced me that terrors live in every forest. It took me a while to venture out as far as I have today, actually, and if it had been anything but Gale behind me I would have rushed back home as fast as I could.

And another part of me believes he understands.

"What are you thinking about?"

I blink in confusion. "Sorry?"

"Your eyebrows were sloping more than usual." He flashes me one of his rare grins as he brushes off a nearby boulder and sits down, patting the spot next to him invitingly. Out of politeness I accept but try not to look like I'm making a point of not resting as close to him as I used to.

"So, what were you thinking of?"

"…Us. How close we used to be. What could have separated us…lots of things."

Gale was silent for a while but I couldn't help but notice he was fidgeting with something in his hands. "Gale?"

"Katniss… I've been thinking too – about all those things. And… And I was wondering…if you were sure you didn't want to get married."

I stared at him, absolutely speechless, as he opened his hands and let the sunlight flash off a small gold ring. "I found it in the mines during your first Hunger Games and couldn't let it go until I knew…"

"Oh Gale." The words were out of my mouth before I knew what was happening. "If I'd known the Games would end before I could have children…"

"Take all the time you want to figure it out. Without the Capital we have all the time in the world."

We both take that moment to lie down on the boulder, chuckling as we accidentally bump elbows. My mind is still whirling but it is a different sort of feeling than when Gale arrived: the sort of dizzy that makes me feel like I'm living a dream and about to wake up hooked to machines in some Capital ship – but this is real, and the most alive I've felt in a long time.

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**A/N:** This was so simple but so hard to write! If you still paused to read this fic despite the very late chapter I thank you for taking the time to check it out. I plan to write six Replays – two from each book – and will take off the hiatus now that I have two of the three Hunger Games books within reach.

And MorbidCheese, if you're still out there somewhere, thanks a million for following this after I called a hiatus! It's the reason I was determined to get this finished despite all the other stuff I got caught up in.


End file.
